I grew up as a Christian and I have recently been questioning my own beliefs. I live in the Bible belt and I am hoping to find others on here who can relate to what I am going through.
Cheers
Lotus
Lots of people have that background, but everyone is different. It would help to know what exactly you are going through right now.
Hope you find what you are looking for.
Welcome to the rest of us heathens. :cheesy:
Welcome
What are you going through? Pain? Alienation? Confusion? Wonderful freedom?
Welcome!
Welcome, I hope you find the answers you seek.
Welcome Lazylotuseater.....
Be sure to barbecue kittens, record the NFL without their permission and rip the tags off of your mattress.
Welcome aboard LazyLotusEater! Solitary
Quote from: LazyLotusEater on August 07, 2014, 03:31:38 AM
I grew up as a Christian and I have recently been questioning my own beliefs. I live in the Bible belt and I am hoping to find others on here who can relate to what I am going through.
Could you elaborate?
And welcome to the forum!
Quote from: LazyLotusEater on August 07, 2014, 03:31:38 AM
I grew up as a Christian and I have recently been questioning my own beliefs. I live in the Bible belt and I am hoping to find others on here who can relate to what I am going through.
Cheers
Lotus
I currently live in the bible belt. Suwannee County, Florida.
(http://www.capecodtoday.com/sites/capecodtoday.com/files/archive/pdn/Q-bibleBelt.jpg)
-Nam
Quote from: LazyLotusEater on August 07, 2014, 03:31:38 AM
I grew up as a Christian and I have recently been questioning my own beliefs. I live in the Bible belt and I am hoping to find others on here who can relate to what I am going through.
Cheers
Lotus
Absolutely, unless you live in the UK it is most likely most atheists you talk to were raised liberal or fundy at some point but managed to escape it.
I also live in the bible belt and the only contact I get with atheists is on the web since I live in the sticks.
I believed at one point but was never fundy but did really want to believe, I also never bought into racism or bigotry either.
Welcome.
Sorry about that, to further elaborate I will tell you about myself so you guys can further understand. I think I have been questioning my own faith for the past month now. This may be a little long.
I live in a place where there is church on every corner , "Have a blessed day" is a greet and random people invite you to their church 10 minutes after meeting you. Admittedly, I didn't go to church as a "good christian" should have but, I was definitely the type they prayed everyday and wanted to better myself an be "Christ-like".
Anyway my best friend of 15 years was raised very sheltered in a fundamentalist christian family, she told me she was scared I was going to hell just because I said I wasn't opposed to same-sex marriage since I think government and religion should be separate. Then she kept saying all these homophobic things and telling me that I should hate and judge others because God does. I had never in my life had a conversation with her like this before and it made me rethink my own religion. Then weeks later she was questioning if I really believed in the bible and she said I needed to get saved. I then said that I had been questing that for weeks now. Her response was that college classes can cause turn away from God and that I should come to her church. Her dad has this very cult-like church service held in their living room which is why I tried to avoid it but, I eventually agreed.
The house church started off normal and I thought "This isn't so bad" but, it was 4 hours long and her father went on some weird racist rant on how [insert race here] had sodomite demons in them and he said as a child that all the men of that race looked gay to him . Then he passed around this paper about this prophecy that he had of the Apocalypse starting in 2 years. Although my brother and parents are Christians they warned me not to go there. Going to her dad's church didn't make it any better to me.
Anyway, I feel like I have been going through depression. I had been reading parts the bible more and comparing it to other stories written before it and the similarities. I've been reading scientific and historical findings and comparing them. At 20 years old I am seeking what the truth is and what makes more sense. I hope it all made sense to everyone lol.
Did your friend actually say, "[Bible]god hates and judges so you should, too" ?[paraphrased]
-Nam
Quote from: Nam on August 08, 2014, 05:07:39 AM
Did your friend actually say, "[Bible]god hates and judges so you should, too" ?[paraphrased]
-Nam
Yes, her argument was that she was allowed to hate and judge people because God does too. I tried to paraphrase as much as I could but, at the time I said I believe that God loves everyone and she said I was wrong because God hated Esau. Then she says that it's okay to judge as long as you didn't commit that sin yourself.
Quote from: LazyLotusEater on August 08, 2014, 02:23:48 AM
Sorry about that, to further elaborate I will tell you about myself so you guys can further understand. I think I have been questioning my own faith for the past month now. This may be a little long.
I questioned my faith for years and years, so I don't think it's "a little long." I never felt like there was a rush. I just kept the door to religion open. If it had been a forced decision to either believe or not believe, I think I would have said I didn't believe, but that's not how belief worked for me. Then one day after many years, it dawned on me that I didn't believe, probably never really did after I was 5 years old. I never suffered from depression or anxiety because of my long search. I didn't feel pressured. I was just waiting for something to happen, but nothing did.
Quote from: SGOS on August 08, 2014, 05:49:27 AM
I questioned my faith for years and years, so I don't think it's "a little long." I never felt like there was a rush. I just kept the door to religion open. If it had been a forced decision to either believe or not believe, I think I would have said I didn't believe, but that's not how belief worked for me. Then one day after many years, it dawned on me that I didn't believe, probably never really did after I was 5 years old. I never suffered from depression or anxiety because of my long search. I did feel pressured. I was just waiting for something to happen, but nothing did.
Sorry , the way I typed could have been misinterpreted, I meant my story was sort of long. Anyway, I appreciate you sharing that anyway because I think it's interesting . I myself was always pressured to go to church and read the bible etc., my friend for example was pressuring me to come get "saved" and was telling me that I'll never know my last breath.
Quote from: LazyLotusEater on August 08, 2014, 06:06:19 AM
Sorry , the way I typed could have been misinterpreted, I meant my story was sort of long. Anyway, I appreciate you sharing that anyway because I think it's interesting . I myself was always pressured to go to church and read the bible etc., my friend for example was pressuring me to come get "saved" and was telling me that I'll never know my last breath.
It's religious peer pressure. I always felt funny and uncomfortable about religion. Like something wasn't right. I could never put my finger on it. Until one day it just happened. There wasn't any watershed moment, no blinding epiphany. I just realized it. And then I knew what that funny feeling was. There is no God.
Quote from: LazyLotusEater on August 08, 2014, 05:30:00 AM
Yes, her argument was that she was allowed to hate and judge people because God does too. I tried to paraphrase as much as I could but, at the time I said I believe that God loves everyone and she said I was wrong because God hated Esau. Then she says that it's okay to judge as long as you didn't commit that sin yourself.
I've always found this attitude interesting, particularly from followers of a scripture containing the line, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."
Quote from: LazyLotusEater on August 08, 2014, 02:23:48 AMAnyway, I feel like I have been going through depression. I had been reading parts the bible more and comparing it to other stories written before it and the similarities. I've been reading scientific and historical findings and comparing them. At 20 years old I am seeking what the truth is and what makes more sense. I hope it all made sense to everyone lol.
You might like Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion." I've read it myself, although I was a bit bored by it because I'm not really the target audience, but I think it might be up your alley. It does a good job of compiling all the relevant arguments in one place, and then addressing them from the perspective of an evolutionary biologist. I can also highly recommend all of Dawkins' "pure science" works.
The late Christopher Hitchens is good if you're just looking for the arguments against the Bible or the existence of God. Even if you're not convinced, it would still be good for you to know what the objections are. Here's a little sample of what you'd be getting from him:
[spoiler]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWJdbhSMUoc[/spoiler]
Of course there's Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye (the Science Guy), and tons of other folks who are worth listening to on subjects where science intersects religious doctrine.
And finally, over the course of a year I've been compiling a "Videos Theists should Watch" playlist. Not all of these videos directly address religion, but I think make good food for thought when it comes to equipping oneself to critically analyze religious thought. There are currently 23 videos of varying length, including the Hitchens video I linked above:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFOpXFlYHQTlXlfVHTCbuxGBXVZbafkZ4 (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFOpXFlYHQTlXlfVHTCbuxGBXVZbafkZ4)
Quote from: Hijiri Byakuren on August 08, 2014, 11:35:53 AM
I've always found this attitude interesting, particularly from followers of a scripture containing the line, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."
You might like Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion." I've read it myself, although I was a bit bored by it because I'm not really the target audience, but I think it might be up your alley. It does a good job of compiling all the relevant arguments in one place, and then addressing them from the perspective of an evolutionary biologist. I can also highly recommend all of Dawkins' "pure science" works.
The late Christopher Hitchens is good if you're just looking for the arguments against the Bible or the existence of God. Even if you're not convinced, it would still be good for you to know what the objections are. Here's a little sample of what you'd be getting from him:
[spoiler]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWJdbhSMUoc[/spoiler]
Thanks, I appreciate it!
Of course there's Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye (the Science Guy), and tons of other folks who are worth listening to on subjects where science intersects religious doctrine.
And finally, over the course of a year I've been compiling a "Videos Theists should Watch" playlist. Not all of these videos directly address religion, but I think make good food for thought when it comes to equipping oneself to critically analyze religious thought. There are currently 23 videos of varying length, including the Hitchens video I linked above:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFOpXFlYHQTlXlfVHTCbuxGBXVZbafkZ4 (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFOpXFlYHQTlXlfVHTCbuxGBXVZbafkZ4)
Not saying you have to add this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5OMNPmoVAw
But if you haven't watched it; it's worth it. Hitchens is amazing, but Fry's monologue takes the cake in my opinion. I was already an atheist when I first watched this clip, but felt like I had to respect the Roman Catholic Church and religion itself automatically and on no real basis. This clip helped me personally to move past that.
source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5OMNPmoVAw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5OMNPmoVAw)
Welcome to our reality. You have taken the most important step by questioning the dogma that you have been subjected to. Everyone here has their own story. Mine was an easy one, i grew up in London, raised a Catholic and stop believing around the same time i stopped believing in Santa Claus. Luckily enough religion wasn't a big deal in our community. It was seen as something personal, if you wanted to practice then fair enough but don't force it down the throats of others.